By now, you’re probably familiar with the advantages of running your business as an LLC: limited liability protection and a simpler method of paying taxes than that imposed on corporations. (To learn more about these benefits, read LLC Basics.) This article focuses on the steps you will take to make your LLC a legal reality. Essentially, you must:

Choose an available business name that complies with your state’s LLC rules.

File formal paperwork, usually called articles of organization, and pay the filing fee (ranging from $40 to $900, depending on the state).

Create an LLC operating agreement, which sets out the rights and responsibilities of the LLC members.

Publish a notice of your intent to form an LLC (required in only a few states).

Obtain licenses and permits that may be required for your business.

Choosing a name for your LLC
The name of your LLC must comply with the rules of your state’s LLC division. (Typically, this office is combined with the corporations division, and is part of the Department or Secretary of State’s office.) While requirements differ from state to state, generally:

the name cannot be the same as the name of another LLC on file with the LLC office

the name must end with an LLC designator, such as “Limited Liability Company” or “Limited Company,” or an abbreviation of one of these phrases (“LLC,” “L.L.C.” or “Ltd. Liability Co.”), and

the name cannot include certain words prohibited by the state, such as Bank, Insurance, Corporation or City (states differ widely on prohibited terms).

Your state’s LLC office can tell you how to check if your proposed name is available for your use. Often, for a small fee, you can reserve your LLC name for a short period of time until you file your articles of organization.

Besides following your state’s LLC naming rules, you must make sure your name won’t violate another company’s trademark. Once you’ve found a legal and available name, you don’t usually need to register it with your state; when you file your articles of organization your business name will be automatically registered.

Filing articles of organization
After settling on a name, you must prepare and file “articles of organization” with your state’s LLC filing office. While most states use the term “articles of organization” to refer to the basic document creating an LLC, some states (including Delaware, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Washington) use the term “certificate of formation.” Two other states (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania) call the document a “certificate of organization.”

One disadvantage of forming an LLC instead of a partnership or a sole proprietorship is that you’ll have to pay a filing fee when you submit your articles of organization. In most states, the fees are modest — typically around $100. In a few others, they take a bigger bite: consider California ($70, plus an $800 annual tax), Illinois ($400) and Massachusetts ($500).

Articles of organization are short, simple documents. In fact, you can usually prepare your own in just a few minutes by filling in the blanks and checking the boxes on a form provided by your state’s filing office. Typically, you must provide only your LLC’s name, its address and sometimes the names of all of the owners — called members. You will probably also be required to list the name and address of a person — usually one of the LLC members — who will act as your LLC’s “registered agent,” or “agent for service of process.” Your agent is the person who will receive legal papers in any future lawsuit involving your LLC. Generally, all of the LLC owners may prepare and sign the articles, or they can appoint just one person to do so.

Creating an LLC operating agreement
Even though operating agreements need not be filed with the LLC filing office and are rarely required by state law, it is essential that you create one. In an LLC operating agreement, you set out rules for the ownership and operation of the business (much like a partnership agreement or corporate bylaws). A typical operating agreement includes:

the members’ percentage interests in the business

the members’ rights and responsibilities

the members’ voting power

how profits and losses will be allocated

how the LLC will be managed

rules for holding meetings and taking votes, and

“buy-sell” provisions, which establish rules for what happens if a member wants to sell his interest, dies or becomes disabled.

Arizona and New York: publication of notice
If you are forming an LLC in Arizona or New York, you must take an additional step to make your company official: You must publish in a local newspaper a simple notice stating that you intend to form an LLC. You are required to publish the notice several times over a period of weeks and then submit an “affidavit of publication” to the LLC filing office. Your local newspaper should be able to help you with this filing.

Licenses and permits
After you’ve completed the steps described above, your LLC is official. But before you open your doors for business, you need to obtain the licenses and permits that all new businesses require. These may include a business license (sometimes also referred to as your “tax registration certificate”), a federal employer identification number, a sellers’ permit or a zoning permit.

About the Author Nolo's mission is to make the legal system work for everyone—not just lawyers. What we do: To help people handle their own everyday legal matters—or learn enough about them to make working with a lawyer a more satisfying experience—we publish reliable, plain-English books, software, forms and this website. Read more »

http://none Laura-Jill

Thank you thank you. I could not find this information so easily laid out and accessible anywhere else.
I’m a single entity looking to create an LLC. I’m not in a position to hire a staff to take care of it for me. Thank you for the information!

Mark Garso

Great Information and Very Helpful
Mark F Garso, 36

subhi tayeh

Attention anyone that is reading this. Can I open a cellular phone business under a Limited Liability Company

http://www.incsource101.com/LLC/formanllc.html Bob M

You can set up any type of legal business using the limited liability company or LLC as the legal structure or form of entity. The articles of organization in most states provide for a purpose clause similar to this: “any and all legal business.” Some states require a more specific description of the business activitity but again, any legal or lawful business activity can be conducted using an LLC. The LLC and S corporation are similar in many ways and even more so now that LLC’s can elect S corporation tax status. Both LLC’s and S corporations are good entities and you won’t go wrong using either one but my recommendation for most small businesses is the LLC which elects S corp tax status.

Bob Montgomery
Business Attorney

http://www.lawinc.com lawinc

If you’re going to start a business with somebody else,. Forming a partnership is usually the most common approach since it’s easier and cheaper to manage than the corporate cousins; namely the Corporation and Limited Liability Corporation.

http://www.lawinc.com lawinc

Your company has grown — now it’s time to upgrade your legal structure to something that will protect you and your assets, as well as provide other benefits. In other words, your business is ready to become either a corporation or a limited liability company.

http://www.lawinc.com lawinc

Forming an LLC is an excellent way for business owners to shield their personal assets. LLCs are also very beneficial to real estate investors. LLCs are one of the best means for holding real estate and other appreciating assets.

In June of 1990, I transferred assets, listed below, of my rowing shell building and sales company to two primary people. I was presented with 100 shares of stock in their company in exchange for two fiberglass molds for poducing two rowing shells, various parts and equipment for finishing these boats as they are produced, a completed sales promotion, video, certain propriety methods for building lightweight Rowing shells. Recently I found the company has been transferred to an individual and the name of the corporation name changed. As a minority shareholder, I was never advised of any activities, net worth, personnel changes of either company. The net worth of both corporations have a direct relationship to the value of my 100 shares. The corporation was limited to issuing 1,000 shares, thus my shares are equal to 10% of the true value of the old/new corporation. How can I get monitarily compensated for the value of my stock?

How LivePlan makes your business more successful

If you're writing a business plan, you're in luck. Online business planning software makes it easier than ever before to put together a business plan for your business.

As you'll see in a moment, LivePlan is more than just business plan software, though. It's a knowledgable guide combined with a professional designer coupled with a financial wizard. It'll help you get over the three most common business hurdles with ease.

Let's take a look at those common hurdles, and see how producing a top-notch business plan sets your business up for success.